Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies
by IzzyMorgensternXX
Summary: Set 5x08. Can Jana stop the plan to 'chip' all wolfbloods? Will Emilia wage war against the humans, or can Matei convince her to change her mind before it's too late?


"Why isn't he answering his phone?" Jana asked in a panicked voice as she tried to dial Matei's new phone number for what must have been the fourteenth time. He still wasn't picking up,and now, with the wolfbloods being hunted down, Jana was beginning to panic. She should have never let him go off like that- what if Hartington's men had found Emilia's pack? What if they'd been chipped?

"Maybe Hafren threw it away again," TJ replied, as the pack sheltered under the cover of a group of tall oak trees.

Jana shrugged, "I hope it's just that. I hope it isn't anything else."

Selina gave the group a nervous look, "Maybe we should turn off our phones. So they can't track us."

"That's a good idea," Imara said, "We'll check in from time to time to see if there's anything from Agent Jones or Dr Whitewood. But for now we need to keep on moving. And avoid the helicopters too."

Jana looked up nervously at the helicopter circling overhead, she just had to hope that they weren't using thermal detection software. Otherwise, come nightfall, they'd all be sitting ducks.

"Are we going to stay in the wild?" TJ asked.

Jana shook her head, "No, that's the first thing they'd suspect."

"Well, where else can we go?" Selina asked, "It's not like humans could hide us. That humans group is everywhere- if they see us- they'll report us. And the normal humans too now- our faces were everywhere after we revealed the secret. People recognise us more than ever."

Jana sighed, "I know. But just because it's hard to find humans we can completely trust, that doesn't mean there aren't any."

TJ sighed, looking out at the town beyond them, "So there are humans here? That we can trust."

Jana nodded, "Yes, and wolfbloods too. I have to warn them. And they'll be able to help us. The wolfbloods and the humans."

"I know this place," Imara said with a smile, "And yes, the humans here. They know Jana, they'll trust her. Or well, they'll be a safer option than the ones in the city."

Jana nodded, "Now, come on. It will be best if we arrive just before nightfall."

TJ nodded, as they walked through the forest, along a ridge that ran around the edge of the town, "This place is nice. Definite wolfblood territory though. I could see a lot of tames wanting to live here."

"And wildbloods too," Jana added, "My friends here, they used to be wildbloods. Members of my father's pack. Elders actually. You know, when Hartington mentioned Blyddisiad I thought he was going to say it was this place. I wouldn't have minded."

"Well, when this is all over," TJ said, "Why don't we make Blyddisiad here?"

Jana shrugged, "We've got to get through all of this first. Figure out whatever is going on with Emilia, help Matei get back to us. I hope he's going to be able to deal with Maddoc and Hafren."

TJ sighed, and then smiled, "We knew you sent him deliberately. There's no other way you would have stayed so calm."

Jana sighed, "I know. But Matei, me- that isn't important now. What's important is keeping everyone safe."

"So what do we do now?" Selina asked, "My parents could be chipped at any point. We need to act fast."

"I know," Jana said, "But we need more people. People who have different skills to us. Once we get everyone together- we'll be safe then. But it's going to take time."

"And Robyn?" Imara asked, "Does she know about this location?"

Jana nodded, "I text Katrina. Told her that we ought to go home."

Imara frowned, "If the humans are tracking text messages?"

Jana sighed, "I worded it in such a way that they won't immediately think of here. Katrina's playing along too. She's pretending to stay at Kay's flat in the city. She's coming here, obviously."

Imara nodded, "It's the best we can do. But we need to be careful. Humans could be tracking our texts, emails, phone calls. It doesn't even matter if we found a way to communicate in runes, the humans have machines to track codes."

Jana sighed, "Even if we stop this. Do you think we'll be able to go back to living a normal life?"

Imara gave her a grave look, "I honestly don't know."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

It was around sunrise when Matei woke up. He had been sleeping in Emilia's tent following the celebrations the night before. He knew what he'd promised her- the Dawnus Torc. It was only a silly necklace of course, but to the wildbloods it meant so much. No matter what was going on, he and Emilia needed to maintain power here. Having people believe that Emilia was the chosen one was essential. That way, when he found enough information to out Maddoc and Hafren, the pack would side with him and his sister.

Matei crept carefully out of the tent and into the clearing beyond. Everyone was still asleep, but Matei tread carefully still. He needed to check his phone. Checking behind him, he jumped the wall of the church, into the nettles and moss surrounding it. The day before he had learnt Eolas here, with his sister. They'd been distracted by Jana's call. Emilia had forced him to bury the phone.

But he knew where it was. Now he just had to watch out for Hafren.

Matei turned on his phone, scrolling through his texts. No…..

They were chipping wolfbloods! All of them. They called it 'voluntary' but it was anything but… Jana and the pack were supposed to be stopping this…. but now it had been approved by the government…. and the reason for this…

"Got you!" Emilia yelled with a grin as Matei looked up in horror. How was he going to explain this? Would she think he'd betrayed her?

"You forgot I'm a light sleeper," Emilia said, "Don't worry, Hafren sleeps like death. If I'm back before she wakes she won't panic."

"Emilia, I didn't mean to," Matei began shakily.

Emilia laughed, "It's ok, brother. I'm your alpha. But I'm not Jana. Jana will always be special to you, no matter who you answer to."

Matei smiled. Before burying his phone again.

"In time it will get easier," Emilia told him, "You have your life here, Jana chose hers in the city. Phones, Jana- they'll become less important with time."

"Never," Matei replied, cursing himself.

Emilia smiled, "Trust me- technology, love. Those were things I held on to, but letting go gets easier with time."

"Love?" Matei asked.

"In Alric's pack," Emilia replied with a sigh, "Well I'll never see him again. It doesn't matter. Hafren's right. I should move on, there are wolves my own age here. I just need time."

"You know," Matei said, "Once I get the Torc. We could go to Alric's pack. He'd have to listen to you. You're the chosen one. That has to stand for something."

Emilia smiled sadly, "To Alric there's only ever one chosen one. Jana."

Matei nodded, "I know. But the Dawnus is the Dawnus. That's on a totally different level."

Emilia stared at the ground, "The last time I saw Alric he was mad at me, for putting the cubs in danger. I abandoned the wild pack. I'm a traitor to them."

"Alric once disowned Jana," Matei told his sister, "When she refused to turn against her old pack- the Canada-Stoneybridge pack. But in time they fixed things. Jana lives in the human world now, Alric in the wild- and it works, and they still love each other and respect each other's way of life. Ask for forgiveness and he will give it. No matter his personal feelings, Alric always has respect for an alpha, no matter who that person is."

Emilia shook her head, "I have a life here. Friends, a pack. I didn't belong in Alric's pack… I was just running away for the human world, because I definitely don't belong there. Now I have the respect and friends that I always wanted."

Matei nodded, "I know. I saw how surprised you were last night, when we all bowed to you. It's been a long time since people gave you the respect and kindness you deserve."

"I know," Emilia admitted, "And I still feel so uncertain. I feel too young, too small, too unwise to be a good alpha. Hafren tells me all alphas feel this way from time to time. She'd be worried I was some crazy power mad arrogant psychopath if I felt cool with all of this."

Matei nodded, "She's been a good friend to you."

"But you don't trust her?" Emilia asked.

Matei nodded, "Not after what happened yesterday. Jana told me. You were on the news. The humans… they're hunting us down… they're going to chip everyone, Emilia. There's going to be a war for real now, not just kids stuff. They want to wipe us out."

"It'll be ok," Emilia told him, "Trust me, Maddoc has a plan. Once we get the Torc, we'll got to Blyddisiad."

"Emilia, there is no Blyddisiad," Matei said, "Jana tried to look for it, she had a vision, but it was just Ansian. That place doesn't exist anymore, it's just a myth."

Emilia shook her head, "It isn't just a myth. There was a scholar who recorded the wolfblood histories, those tomes were passed down from generation to generation."

"And don't tell me?" Matei said, "Maddoc is descended from this wolfblood scholar?"

"No," Emilia replied, "Aran is. Hafren stole the tomes from him the night we ran away. It's no myth. Trust me."

"I do," Matei said.

"Good," Emilia said, before passing him a package wrapped in a thin cloth, "Now go get me the Torc. Once I have it I'll use Eolas and Ansian and start planning out our route. I hope to leave by sunset. Be careful, Matei."

Matei nodded, before hugging his sister, "Don't worry, Emilia, I'll do what I need to do."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

The half moon was hanging miserably in the gloomy night sky as the pack sat around the kitchen table and Jana picked the pepperoni off the pizza glumly, whilst the rest of the pack dug in- not because they wanted to, but because they needed their strength.

Jana could hear her 'uncle' on the phone to his fellow ex-employees, arranging a plan as to how to handle the mess they were now in. It was clear that none of the addresses on the list were safe, and moreover, any human who suspected they had found a wolfblood would hand them in. It seemed that what Aran had said before was wrong. The wild might be the only option, at least for now.

"You should eat," Imara told the young girl, "You need your strength. We might have a long journey tomorrow."

Ceri walked in through the back door, carrying two dead pheasants, and smiled as Selina and TJ shared confused and shocked looks, "Pizza might be fine for you and…him. But Jana and I prefer proper meat, not that pepper-slime stuff."

Jana smiled as helped clear the kitchen side so that the pheasants could be prepared.

"Has Gerwyn managed to find out anything that can help us?" Ceri asked.

"Maybe," Imara said, "He says he has other friends who worked in accounts. And ones with top security clearance. He's even called Sweeney for her help. To see if she knows about Project Genesis."

Ceri nodded, "I'm sure this time Sweeney will be on our side."

"She is," Gerwyn said merrily, walking into the room "And she also said she has access to the Project Genesis files. Well, some access. We need someone who can crack computer codes."

"Shannon?" Ceri asked.

Gerwyn shrugged, "Maybe. It certainly won't hurt to get the old pack together. We had humans- Liam, Jeffries."

"Jeffries is staying with Dr Whitewood," Imara explained, "In case the humans try to take them in for questioning."

"Liam," TJ replied, "He was involved in the questioning, wasn't he? They tried to get him to say that he was beaten up by Jana."

Jana nodded, "Yes, and he proved his loyalty to us. We could use his help. I'll go there tonight."

"No, you won't," Gerwyn replied, "We wait for Robyn and Shannon to arrive and we crack Project Genesis. And when Katrina arrives, then we send her to talk to Liam."

"It isn't safe!" Jana yelled, "They'll know, the humans will know they're up to something, they'll capture them."

"No," Selina said, "Not if we're following."

"It's exactly what they'd expect us to do," TJ added, "To follow after them. And what about the helicopters?"

"Yeah, well that's why you need me," a familiar voice said, as the pack turned to see Hannah standing in the doorway with Agent Jones behind her.

"Agent Jones called me," Hannah said, "And drove me here. Look, I'm an unfamiliar face around here. If anyone asks I'll say I'm Liam's cousin."

"No, I don't like this idea," Imara replied.

"Because you still don't trust me?" Hannah asked angrily, "Doesn't look like you have many options left, does it?"

"No," Jana said with a sigh, "We do trust you. It's just... I'm not letting anyone get hurt."

"Yeah, well," Hannah said, "I might just be a human, but I'm still capable of looking after myself."

"Ok," Jana said, "I'll give the details after dinner. We're waiting for Katrina and Robyn to arrive. We were investigating something called Project Genesis. But when we tried to access it, the hard drive we used overheated and the data became corrupted. It was a default defence mechanism. The data, whatever it's about, it was top secret. But we have someone who has that level of clearance. They can give us the access codes and we need to hack our way in. Robyn and Shannon, another friend of mine, they can help us."

Agent Jones nodded, "And will this Project Genesis help us?"

Jana shrugged, "I don't know. But right now we don't have many options so I'm willing to explore anything. It could change things, even if it doesn't directly influence what's going on now."

Agent Jones nodded, "Ok."

"You know this might be a really stupid idea but," Gerwyn said, "Why don't we allow ourselves to get chipped, and then remove them afterwards. Before they have a chance to take away wolves."

"No," Imara said, "That wouldn't work. They'd find out, that the chips hadn't worked."

"Yeah, but does this Hartington guy even know they work," Gerwyn replied, "Has he tested them?"

"Yes," TJ said, "He tested one of them on me."

"Yes," Jana said, "But we removed it once it got infected."

"Infected?" Ceri asked.

"I used wolfblood healing to cure the infection," Jana replied, "Yarrow, St John's wort, dandelion…"

Ceri smiled, "Good, but I don't need to know how to cure an infection. I was just thinking, humans have their illnesses where their bodies turn against them, start destroying themselves, and they get infection symptoms. What if we said that the same thing was happening to us?"

Jana nodded smiling, "And what if we used the serum at the same time? The fake one Dr Whitewood used on me, she said it produces a strong immune reaction in wolfbloods, but it's all for show."

Imara shook her head, "Something tells me that Hartington's Blyddisiad is some holding pen, to stop wolfbloods from removing their chips before their wolves can be destroyed. He's a smart man, smart enough to know we might try this sort of thing, and smart enough to know that we might fake an autoimmune reaction."

"And you have to bear in mind that right now humans wouldn't care if wolfbloods went extinct," Agent Jones said, "Or rather they wouldn't mind how."

"Great," TJ replied, "So what is our plan?"

"A common threat," Gerwyn said, "There's Elgar's pack."

"Who's Elgar?" Selina asked.

"He's bad," Jana said, "The sort of storybook werewolf sort of wolfblood. Makes Maddoc look tame. Elgar was a member of my grandfather's pack, he was jealous of my father, and, was in love with my mother. He made threats towards my parents when they got married and he was exiled. Apparently he never quite let go, but my father was careful to keep his distance from him. Over time, Elgar lost a lot of his influence. My father, he's well known amongst the English wildbloods, our family is sort of the English version of Genghis Khan's. Or like the Tudors or something like that. I think that's the closest comparison. Only we weren't as violent as the Tudors or the Mongols. Anyway, Gerwyn might be right, if we were able to prove that there's a bigger threat than tames or even Emilia's pack, then we might be able to fix this. Wildbloods like Elgar, they're a threat to everyone- human, tame, and wilds."

Agent Jones and Imara shared a hopeful look.

"And as for Emilia," Gerwyn said, "If we could get her to surrender."

Selina shook her head, "Matei's still out there. But she wouldn't budge when we talked to her yesterday."

"She's changed a lot," TJ added, "She's no longer the kind, sweet Emilia we all knew."

Jana nodded, "It's Hafren and Maddoc, they are the masterminds. They're playing her. It's going to hurt when she finds that out. I'm glad Matei's out there with her. He'll help her."

"Wait, Maddoc and Hafren?" Ceri asked, "Our Hafren?"

Jana nodded, "Yes, our Hafren. Not that I'm all that surprised. She was Meinir's third in command. Back when Meinir wanted to be alpha."

"Yes, but still, Meinir was," Gerwyn said, "Difficult. Hafren was…"

"Deranged," another person said as she walked down the stairs, "Which was awesome originally until I found out she cared less about helping me and more about blood-lust."

"Meinir," Jana said with a smile, hugging the older girl, "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't Aran tell you I'm staying in the human world now?" Meinir asked, "And where else would I go? Humans can be part of a pack, I chose to stay with mine."

Jana nodded, "Have you seen the reports?"

"Emilia has a sickness within her," Meinir said, "A sickness put in her by Hafren and Maddoc. That wasn't the young fire-walker I knew. She has a task just as powerful as the one she has set out to achieve now, she will always be an alpha, have her own pack, seperate from yours. But they are moving in completely the opposite direction to the one they should be aiming for."

"Fire walker?" Hannah asked, "What's a fire walker?"

"Touched by fire," Jana said, "A wolfblood who has walked through fire. Mastered their fear of fire. Not just mastered it though, but also can control it. It's just a legend, but wild wolfbloods put a lot of emphasis on their legends, true or not."

Hannah nodded, "So you're saying that Emilia will do something great, but that it should be a force for good not bad?"

Meinir nodded, "Ignore Jana, she has always doubted our traditions. Fire walkers are real, and yes, Emilia will achieve great things, but not like this. Fire walkers are liberators, peacemakers, their job is to herald in a new age of the Earth."

Ceri sighed, "Whatever happens, I doubt this is what the cub wants. And anyway, I knew I recognised the name Maddoc. You remember that scrawny cub always running after Elgar?"

Gerwyn nodded, "Yes, I remember him. Yes, Maddoc, he was Elgar's healer."

"Well that explains a lot," TJ replied.

"Anyway," Jana said, "Until they are gone, we can't get Emilia to surrender. So, we have to hope Matei will be able to fix that problem, and just focus on what we can do."

"So hacking the Project Genesis files," Gerwyn stated, "And calling up allies. Maybe we'll also find out some people who knew about Hartington- although by the looks of things we already know where we stand with him. And Jana- maybe you should, er, be the one to break the news to your old pack?"

Jana sighed, "If Hartington doesn't kill me, then Maddy's parents certainly will."

Jana trudged up the stairs to what was Maddy's and then her old bedroom. Inside a computer sat at a wooden desk and showed a Skype homepage. Jana noticed the green tick that said Rhydian was online. She prayed to all the wolfblood gods she could recall that Maddy and her parents would be out hunting, or busy packing to go to the wild, or something like that. Or maybe they could be so mad that they refused to talk to her.

But as Jana clicked on the video button she knew there was no chance of her getting that kind of luck.

Rhydian's face appeared a few moments later, and in the kitchen behind him were Maddy's parents, Maddy shot Jana an angry look as she grabbed a sandwich from the side and stormed out of the room.

"Hi," Jana began, with a nervous smile, "I guess you saw the reports."

"I did," Rhydian replied, "And you should know that we're safe here for the moment. Canada's taken a different approach, one that's been in place since the beginning. Wolfbloods have to sign on at police stations, tell employers and schools, admit if they have criminal records, that kind of stuff. They've been doing that all along, and for them, it's effective. They don't need chips, at least not for now."

Jana smiled, "Good."

"I know where you are," Rhydian replied, "Is everyone safe?"

Jana nodded, "Yes, we're figuring out a plan. Trying to see if we can get any info from Segolia."

Rhydian nodded, "That might be your best bet."

Jana smiled, before looking at Emma and Daniel.

"This whole situation was reckless," Emma began, "Right from the reveal to now. But recently, this Emilia wolfblood, this was out of your control, even if she used to be a part of your pack. You should never have told the world about us, but it's done, and no one deserves to have their wolf taken from them."

"It was an impossible situation," Daniel said, "Jana was being threatened. And you know what, how long before the secret would out anyway? Emma, there was a time when wolfbloods and humans worked together. Maybe we need to just give humans some time to get reading their history books again and start seeing that without us their would be no England or Americas."

"That might take too long," Jana said, "We'll do what we can here. Just be careful, please."

Emma sighed, "We're safe here. And we'll do our investigating too. We aren't ex-Segolia, but we have friends who are. They are free to go where-ever they need to to get information."

Jana smiled, "Thank you, and tell Maddy I'm sorry."

Daniel sighed, "Don't worry about her. She's just upset because Shannon and Tom were supposed to be visiting, but now it wouldn't be safe for them to go here. Because of their connection to you."

"Well, they might be coming here later," Jana admitted, "So tell Maddy that."

"No, you tell Maddy to stop sulking, Rhydian," a familiar voice said, and Jana turned to see Tom and Shannon standing in the doorway, "Get her back now."

"On it," Rhydian said with a grin, as Jana hugged her friends.

"Robyn's on her way too," Shannon said, "Five minutes away, needed to pick up another friend who worked in Segolia security. Katrina arrived just before us… but she seems really nervous?"

Tom nodded, "Kept on worrying about Robyn, do you think they're?"

"They are," Jana said.

"I never would have guessed," Tom replied, "Not after Katrina's Rhydian obsession."

"Katrina's Rhydian obsession?" Rhydian asked as he appeared with a happier Maddy.

"Yeah, we were just discussing how Katrina hunts for both packs," Jana said with a smile, as Rhydian and Maddy gave her a surprised look.

"Well at least that's some good news, I guess," Maddy replied, "I'm sorry about storming off earlier, it's just this whole situation, it's so impossible."

"We'll figure it out," Jana reassured her, "Look, I know you're not in Segolia itself but I was wondering if you'd ever heard of Project Genesis?"

Daniel sighed, "I heard a friend mention it a while back. Must have been a good few years ago. They were trying to recruit us, to help build the new offices in Newcastle. He said it was all top secret but that from what he'd been told it would change everything. In fact, he said that after the information was all put together, he could see us going public with the wolfblood secret."

"Daniel!" Emma yelled in shock, "You never told me this."

"Yeah, well I thought he was just saying stupid things," Daniel replied, "Never had a reason to take him seriously."

"So what you're saying is that now the secret is out," Shannon began, "Whatever is in those files will set the humans minds at ease. But what could it be? Tapes of wolfblood behaviour, medical stuff?"

Daniel shrugged, "My friend- he was just a research analyst. He was allowed to tell me which department it was from."

Jana sighed, "Well, I'm sure Robyn and her friends will be able to figure this out. Apparently she has a higher security clearance than Imara for some of the files."

Rhydian frowned, "But wait, wasn't Imara head of security after Sweeney?"

Jana nodded, "But Sweeney wanted Robyn to take over."

"Well," Tom said, "That doesn't matter now."

"Look," Daniel said, "I'll call my friend and you get yours on it too. I'm sure we'll figure this out."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Matei hadn't never expected it to be so difficult to open the door to the bunker. It had taken him about twenty minutes just to lift it enough the wear away at the rust and then another five to lift it enough for him to get in. Closing it behind him, he felt panic rise up in his blood, what if he got trapped? Well, at least there was the land-line here… although, Matei didn't feel like explaining to Jana about what he was trying to steal the Dawnus Torc.

Matei walked quickly into the main research room, and towards the box where the Torc was stored, he opened it, grabbing it and placing it into his backpack.

 _It can only be touched by the chosen one. Otherwise, it'll bring the wearer bad luck._

Matei shook off the memory of Jana's words. The Torc was just a myth. If he let himself think like that then he'd start believing all kinds of things. There was no such thing as bad luck.

Matei looked at the clock on the wall. Four. That meant he had three and a half hours till sunset. The journey back would take him only two at most. Matei walked around the office, looking at various files and in several boxes before stopping at the computer. He was aware of what his pack would be going through and he worried incessantly. If there was something here, something obvious that they'd overlooked that could stop everything that was going on…

Matei tried to log onto the computer, but it was password protected. He tried Segolia first, with no luck, then considered trying password…

Then he tried something else, something which at first made no sense, but then after a while seemed almost plausible.

 _Cerberus._

The password was accepted, and Matei grinned.

That was when he became aware of someone standing behind him, who had begun to laugh.

Matei turned quickly, allowing his black veins and yellow eyes to show.

The man who stood before him surprisingly wasn't Hartington. No, he was around the same age, and same height too. But his hair was light. Matei recognised him and cussed. Things had gone from bad to so much much worse.

The man smiled, "You're smart I'll give you that. Although, I'm sure Jana has told you everything. Oh, don't look so surprised, the whole world knew when you held her hand at the conference. Tell me, what would your girlfriend think of you running off with the Torc?"

"What would your mother think of you trying to wipe out her species?" Matei retorted.

Kincaid grinned, "Touché. I forgot what you Covaci wolves were like. Magdalena was always sassing me, I miss her."

Matei frowned, "You knew my mother."

Kincaid nodded, "Yes, was one of my best employees. And I think I know the reason why you're here. All I'll say is that you have every right to want to know what your mother was researching."

"Project Genesis?" Matei said.

Kincaid nodded, "Genesis, yes. An important word, genesis. Do you know what Genesis is?"

"It's a book in the Bible," Matei said, "The first one, when the world and the animals were created."

Kincaid nodded, "Go on."

"But, you're creating wolfbloods?" Matei asked, "New ones. But I thought you hated us."

"Well I did," Kincaid replied, "And to be fair, I still do. Kids like your sister, Emilia, they're the ones I particularly dislike. But you, Jana- a bit irritating, but there's still potential there. As for the wild pack, they stay out of my way, I'll stay out of there's."

"Why the change of heart?" Matei asked.

"You're more valuable to us as wolfbloods than as humans," Kincaid said, "Tell me, what do you think might be in those files?"

"Medical data," Matei replied, "Something about wolfbloods that could help the humans, to cure diseases, or something like that."

Kincaid nodded, "Yes, exactly like that. And what are the most deadly diseases out there today?"

Matei sighed, "Neurodegenerative diseases, cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, Ebola, cholera, HIV- I don't know which one's the worst but…"

"And what do most wolfbloods die of?" Kincaid asked.

"Natural disasters, infections, sometimes," Matei replied, "I don't know, my grandparents, they just died of old age."

Kincaid nodded, "Yes, old age mostly. And the city bloods have a much lower mortality from infection. Even your friend Meinir, she would have been able to fight off the pneumonia, become completely well. Because you see, you can't completely eradicate a wolfblood's DNA."

Matei frowned, "What?!"

"Wolfblood DNA is robust," Kincaid said, "To say the least. Wolfbloods have significantly lower rates of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, genetic diseases of all types. Wolfbloods are the perfect species- their DNA 'checking mechanisms' are unbelievably accurate, their bodies have super-homeostasis which protects them from blood sugar problems and issues with infection. Sure, infections can still be deadly, but that's only in wild bloods usually, because of a lack of exposure to pathogens. City-bloods, they have a higher than average immunity."

Matei nodded, "So you're saying that wolfblood DNA could hold the key to curing a ton of diseases?"

"Not could," Kincaid replied, "Does. But here's the great thing for you. That DNA would have to be transferred using bone marrow cells."

Matei nodded, "So using the chips, what would that do to us?"

Kincaid smiled, "Well, using the chips only turned off gene expression, but from my research I've found that a bone marrow transfusion from a well matched donor would cause the genes to be turned on again. Really, there was no hiding it from you lot anyway, which is why I changed my mind, about trying to destroy you, some day, someone like your mother was going to just come along and find this all out anyway. So it's better to just whatever I can from you wolfbloods in that case."

"So there's actually no way to wipe out wolfbloods?" Matei asked.

"Strictly speaking no," Kincaid said, "But you would need to perform well matched bone marrow transplants, which can be difficult for wolfbloods. They have more genetic diversity that humans, makes it harder to make a match."

Matei nodded, "But not impossible."

Kincaid grinned, "Precisely. And there's nothing to say that there wouldn't be a new technology available, in say, ten years that could get around all of that. I hear you're interested in becoming a doctor, surely you know about severe combined immunodeficiency?"

Matei nodded, "Yes. I know about the research. So we could just change a virus or bacteria to reintroduce the genes?"

Kincaid nodded, "Yes. It is just a matter of switching back on roughly fifty genes, which sounds like a lot, but is just a fair amount of repeating the same procedure again and again in reality."

"So what are you going to do with that information?" Matei asked.

Kincaid smiled, "Well, firstly I'm going to inform the government, no point wasting time on something so thoroughly useless as those chips. Then, I'm going to convince them that we're better of keeping wolfbloods as wolfbloods than as humans. Although, chances are, they're still going to lock all of you in a cage."

Matei sighed, "What will stop them from locking us up?"

Kincaid sighed, "That will be up to you and Jana to figure out. Although I think one thing might do it."

"What?" Matei asked.

"Your sister," Kincaid said, "She was the one who threatened them. She was the leader, the others could say they were coerced into following orders, get off lightly by agreeing to the clinical trials. Your sister however, they'll want the threat she poses to be completely extinguished."

"NO!" Matei yelled, veining up.

"You need to be realistic," Kincaid replied, "They're not going to let her walk away with her wolf."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Jana had just received Matei's text and it felt as if the ground had fallen out from underneath of her. The pack sat around the table looking at her with worried expressions as Meinir grabbed her and quickly moved her towards the sofa.

"Sit," Meinir ordered her, "You look like you're about the pass out. And here, you need some sugar."

Jana looked at the chocolate suspiciously, not expecting her stomach to hold anything in, "Matei just texted."

"Have they got him?" Selina asked terrified.

Jana shook her head, "No. It's more complicated than that. Matei came back, to the bunker. He was getting the Dawnus Torc for Emilia. Yeah, it's a long story. Kincaid was there…"

"Kincaid?" Imara asked worriedly.

Jana nodded, "Yes, he knew about Project Genesis. And apparently, Matei's mother knew too. He told Matei that there is no way that wolfbloods can be fully eradicated. The chips, the serums, they just switch off the genes, but there don't completely eradicate our wolves. They can be switch back on, by bone marrow transplants, or using technology like viruses to reintroduce the switched on genes."

The pack cheered, and Meinir grinned exuberantly.

"It's not that simple though," Jana said, "Kincaid said that wolfblood genes hold the cure for all of the major deadly human diseases today. If you think about it, when was the last time a full wolfblood had anything worse than a cold or flu?"

"It's true," Robyn said, "Our cancer and Alzheimer's rates are significantly lower. Wolfblood DNA is a bit hardier, corrects itself a lot more easily. Genetic diseases are reduced too. In fact the only threats to wolfbloods are usually autoimmunity, although it's easily reversed. Only the wildbloods typically get the severe stuff, and that's only because of a lack of exposure to pathogens."

Katrina smiled, "So wolfbloods have the cure for cancer and stuff like that?"

"Basically, yeah," Jana said, "Or so Kincaid has told Matei, and Matei seems convinced, he must have shown him the data. He said Kincaid was going to present it to the government and Dr Whitewood too."

Imara nodded, "We'll just have to make sure he keeps to his word. I know this is unexpected, but Kincaid, despite his faults, he always did what was the best for everyone. He would prioritise this above anything else."

Jana nodded, "I know. But this isn't good news. They're going to stick us in cages, make us donors."

"Well if they can just get rid of the cages part I'm up for it," TJ said, "And I don't even like needles."

Jana sighed, "I still don't know."

Meinir sighed, "Look, you said that it was the wildblood who get sick the most, because of a lack of exposure to bugs, right?"

Imara nodded, "So, yes, they couldn't keep us in cages! If we don't live out in the cities then we wouldn't be able to keep up our immunity."

"Exactly," Hannah said, "And they'll know that."

"Yeah, but what about the wild pack?" Tom asked, "Their way of life will be destroyed. We can't stand for that."

"There are other things the humans need," Ceri replied, "Not just our DNA. In the wild, there are herbs, herbs that cure almost anything. Humans need that knowledge, but they also need to be shown how to carry out the techniques properly, to learn how to prepare medicines without the use of fire, for example. There are some herbs that are so fragile that you have to keep them carefully to stop them going bad."

"Yes," Gerwyn said, "And then there's the historical side too. Humans need a better understanding of their own history. And what about national parks, there are national parks in Africa where the indigenous humans are allowed to live because they help protect the land."

Imara nodded, "Yes, there's ways to make it work. That's a smaller detail now."

"Don't worry," Meinir said, "I can sell it to them, make it work. "

Jana sighed, "It's not just that though. It's just. The ones who made the threats. The government won't just let that go. Well, they might let the rest of the pack go, if they complied with the trials, and showed they were coerced. But…"

"They'll be forced to take Emilia's wolf," Robyn said matter-of-factly.

"They can't!" Katrina yelled, "You can fight them."

"Anyone who protects her will get the same treatment," Robyn told Katrina, holding her hand.

"They'd be fools to rob the wolf of a fire walker," Meinir replied, "Out of all of them are the strongest."

"But it's just a legend," Jana replied, earning a stern look from Ceri and Meinir, "I mean, the humans have no reason to believe any of it."

"Well, I'd have no reason to believe any of it either," Dr Whitewood said, walking through the door, Jeffries following, "If it weren't for the research I've been doing over the past couple of days. You see, I found a file saying Hartington was known to Segolia, a file written by Matei's mother. Then I dug a bit more to see what she was looking into, once I knew that she was a researcher too. It was just curiosity at first, then I discovered her name and Kincaid's next to a project, project Genesis. It took a while to get through all the files. But it's true that wolfbloods have super-immunity, wolfbloods can't technically be eradicated and that their DNA can be used to cure most human diseases."

The whole pack smiled, but then the other issues hit them hard.

"The wild pack," Ceri replied, "They'll destroy it."

"No, they won't," Dr Whitewood said, "You're forgetting the first sample we ever received was from Jana. We gathered more samples from both wilds and tames over time. The different environments caused different genes to amplified in wilds and tames. To put it simply, we need both wild and tame DNA to cure the diseases, and for that we need the wilds and tames to live in the home environments, this seems to be the link between the genes being expressed. Maybe it's a dietary thing, or simply living outdoors."

"So that just leaves Emilia," Jana said, "The rest of us are in the clear."

"Yes," Dr Whitewood replied, "They just announced it on the news now. All wolfbloods must submit to compulsory bone marrow donations or have their wolves taken away and face up to ten years in prison."

"It could be worse," Katrina reassured them.

"We don't mind helping the humans," Robyn told her, "It was my job anyway. Protecting all of us."

"No sane wolfbloods would want to stop the humans from curing their illnesses," Ceri replied, "I'll talk to the humans, get them to agree to let me visit the wild pack. Alric will not be happy, but he'll be happier knowing that this is a safe and good option."

"It would be best if I go too," Dr Whitewood added, "To tell them about the procedure. So there's no misunderstandings. And as for Emilia, well, wild and tame DNA is extraordinary, but there might be something about firewalkers. I know I'll find out more from Matei, but has Emilia been sick since the fire?"

TJ shrugged, "Emilia did bunk off some dark moons. Other than that she didn't miss school. It wasn't like Emilia ever got ill much to start with."

Meinir smiled, "The legends say that once a firewalker had ascended to her powers she will be struck do by no illness or injury."

Jana sighed, "Well, if you can prove it, then, it's great, if not, we need another plan."

"I know," Meinir said, "But I can convince her to cooperate, and then I'll be able to buy her some time."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

It was the morning following the Dawnus Torc celebrations and to say that Matei was the most respected wolfblood in the pack, except for Emilia, would have been an understatement. They were treating him like some god.

Emilia and him led the hike towards Blyddisiad, happily munching on meat left over from the night before. Matei had argued with Emilia to let him use his phone, and whilst the rest of the wild pack hated it, they had to admit that GPS had its benefits.

"Just another five miles to go," Matei told his sister, "We'll be there in time for lunch. I still have some money left over. We could get something nice, from the town."

Emilia smiled, "Yes, and now that it's safe too. We can, if we're careful."

"Emilia, we still need to talk," Matei said, "The pack, we need to convince them that the trials are in their best interests. You told Jana we'd never get to equality with humans. But this isn't just equality. Humans are reliant on us now, for real, proper, cures for everything that has ever made them sick."

Emilia sighed, "I know. I will give the edict tonight. All pack members are free to decide for themselves, but the procedure must be carried out in the wild, so long as it's safe for us."

Matei smiled, "And this war?"

Emilia smiled, "Like you said, the humans need us. It feels good to know we won't be pushed around by them anymore."

Matei nodded, "That was what it was all about. The bullies. People talking about your scars."

Emilia stared at the ground, "Yeah, out here it means something else. It's something good. I have a destiny. I thought it was to make wolfbloods great again."

"Yeah, well, it is," Matei said, "You wanted us to return to the past. Well in the past, wolfbloods and humans fought side by side, not against each other, we helped the humans fight against invaders. Now it's just different invaders."

Emilia smiled, "And we get to keep our way of life too. It's just, I wanted to do something important, because I'm a fire-walker. Now, all I get to look forward to is being on the run my whole life. The humans, they offered to pardon my pack, even Hafren and Maddoc. But not me, I can understand why."

"Hey," Matei said, "Jana will work on that. You won't have to be on the run all your life."

Emilia sighed, "Maybe that's what my destiny is about. Never being safe. Maybe that the price I have to pay."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK  
Jana helped Katrina to set up the picnic so they were able to look out over Sheffield from the hill which formed the centre of Blyddisiad. They had been right, Blyddisiad had been a holding pen for wolfbloods who had been chipped, but now, after Hartington's arrest for lying to the government, the land had been gifted to Jana's pack.

In two days time they'd be undergoing their first donation and to say Jana was nervous was an understatement. It wasn't as simple as she'd originally thought it would be, and the idea of being passed out scared her, even if she knew that she'd be fine within a couple of days.

"Emilia's going to freak out," TJ said, "I just know it. She'll think we're trapping her. She'll try to run."

"Well, that's why I'm here," Meinir said, "If I'm working with the humans, she'll trust me."

Jana nodded, "Yes, we need to convince her that she'll be ok."

"Well, only if they can prove firewalkers have genes that are good enough to overlook their crimes," Robyn answered, "But if this research is anything to go by then we'll be fine."

Katrina nodded, "Maybe they should have released that news with the articles."

"No," Selina answered, "It would have sparked a witch hunt and then we'd have lost Emilia forever."

Jana sighed, "I just want her and Matei to be safe."

"They will be," Katrina reassured her, "The only thing to worry about is whether or not wildbloods will be offended by cheap pork pies."

"Doubtful," a familiar voice said.

"Aran!" Meinir yelled as Ceri, Gerwyn and Aran joined them.

"Turns out Alric was moving south for the summer," Gerwyn said, "Bumped into him and told about everything. He's not impressed, but he's happy enough. Let the elders grumble, he said, but I have the right to pass this law. Anyway, those old codgers have had their time of day, the cubs, Gwyn and Cadwr, they'd give anything to go to the human world again. A lot of the younger wolves want to work with humans. After all the brought their alphas back from the brink of death, so the attitudes changed a lot."

Jana smiled, "Will my father be visiting soon?"

Gerwyn nodded, "In the next week or so, he plans to stop by on the way to Wales."

"My granddad's going to love that," Katrina said.

"Well, when he lives to ninety he'll have a far different attitude about us fur-balls," Meinir replied, before passing a pork pie to Aran.

"And our attitudes will change too," Aran said, "I wouldn't worry about the food, it's wildblood proof."

Jana sighed, "We're so close now. So close to having everything figured out."

Ceri nodded, "Yes, we really are."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

"Welcome to Blyddisiad," Matei said, as he read the sign, in front of him and the pack, lay a network of sprawling hills, and he helped Emilia hike up the steep one that led to a plateau of sorts.

"It is generally considered bad to talk ill of such a place but," Hafren began, "Is this really it? And is that a human town just a few miles away?"

Emilia nodded, "It isn't much now, but just imagine what it will be like when all the wolfbloods gather here, just like in the vision."

Matei smiled, he knew the vision was no more than Ancian, but he didn't have the heart to tell Emilia that.

Matei and Emilia lead the pack towards another hill, but stopped when they saw the group that stood before them.

Jana, Selina, TJ, Meinir and Aran stood before them with Agent Jones and another man they hadn't seen before.

Emilia froze, and whispered, "They've come to get me. I know they have. This is it."

"No," Hafren said, "We won't let them."

"Let me speak to them," Maddoc said, "YOU HUMANS AND TRAITORS! How dare you sacrifice this holy cub, our fire-walker?"

Jana sighed, before walking up to Maddoc, "Hi, Maddoc. Yup, this is him."

Agent Jones and the other man moved to arrest the wolfbloods, fighting against him, but managing to subdue him, just a police car arrived and two police officers took Maddoc towards it.

"I won't let you take her wolf!" Hafren yelled.

"Hafren, let me talk to them," Matei said, before looking at his sister, who could only give him a small scared nod.

Matei walked towards Jana, before hugging her, breathing in her scent.

"I missed you," Matei said, "So much."

Jana smiled, "Me too. I was worried sick."

Matei took Jana's hand in his as he turned to face Agent Jones and the other human- Agent Mills.

"Emilia is a part of our pack," Matei said, "I won't let you take her wolf away."

"Why would we do that?" Agent Jones said, before realising, "Jana didn't tell you."

"I did," Jana said, "I text Matei this morning."

"We've been walking since dawn," Matei replied, "No signal. So wait, you're not going to take Emilia's wolf?"

Agent Jones shook her head, "God no! We value Emilia for exactly the same reasons that wild pack values her. She's a fire-walker. She's essential for our research, we can't let her wolf get taken away."

"What?" Hafren asked, "Emilia, you must see this is a trick. Humans, they can't be trusted, this is just a trick!"

Emilia sighed, "No, Hafren. I think they're being honest. Tell me, tell me, why protect me?"

"You are immune to every illness known to man and wolfblood," Meinir explained, "And Hafren knows that, so it's lovely that she decided not to tell you."

Hafren snarled, "Nice to see you too, Meinir. Didn't expect you to be the spokesperson for humans."

"Yes, well it's amazing how much you can change when you want to," Meinir replied, before turning back to Emilia, "Come here, carriad, it's safe."

Emilia walked tentatively towards the older girl and Meinir hugged her.

"You have nothing to fear, carriad," Meinir told her.

"Is it true I'll never get sick again?" Emilia asked with a smile.

"Yes," Jana said, "But unfortunately everyone knows so you can't bunk off anymore."

Emilia grinned, "Well, so long as I don't lose my wolf."

Agent Mills nodded, "You can trust us, in fact we have it in writing, and your pack will witness it later."

"But what about the things I said?" Emilia replied, "Won't I get punished for that?"

Agent Jones sighed, "Meinir?"

The older girl nodded, "A human could smell it. Wouldn't you agree, Jana?"

Jana nodded, "Yes, nightshade. And a fair amount too."

"Nightshade?" Matei asked worriedly, "But that's deadly?"

Agent Jones nodded, "How much do you think was used?"

"Enough to cause delusions, but not kill," Meinir said.

Emilia looked up at Hafren with tears in her eyes, "Did you?"

"I had to," Hafren said, "You wouldn't believe me any other way."

"You could have killed her!" Matei yelled, moving attack the wildblood.

Agent Jones and the police officers moved to arrest Hafren.

"No, let me at her!" Matei yelled, "She can't get away with this!"

"Trust me she won't," Agent Mills said.

"Let her go," Emilia said to Matei and then to the wild pack, "I don't want to ever see her again."

"Emilia," Jana said.

"No, you're right, Jana," Emilia said before turning to the humans, "I'll do it. And there's no war, trust me. I'm just a weak and stupid cub, not an alpha."

The pack watched as Emilia ran away from them.

"I should go," Matei said, "She can't be out there alone."

Agent Jones nodded, "It'll be best if she gets to a hospital sooner rather than later."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

 **Three Days Later**

It had taken the best part of a day and a half to talk Emilia round to coming to the human world. She was still far from ok and Matei knew that it would take a long time for her to get over the latest betrayal.

He watched as she slept, trying to overcome the effects of the poison. At least she'd be safer here, and she'd recover quickly. Apparently, the no illness only meant no pathogens or genetic illnesses, Emilia could still be affected by trauma or poisons.

Matei hoped that she'd stay permanently in the human world, but he was afraid that she might take off and become a lone wolf.

Jana smiled at him tiredly as she limped into the room. The first round of procedures had been carried out, with over a thousand wolfbloods having donated already. The city bloods had all recovered in remarkable time, but for Jana the recovery was going to take a while longer.

Matei moved to let her sit next to him.

"She'll be ok," Jana reassured him, "She's strong. And once she's better she'll be able to help Meinir, if she wants to."

"She will," Matei said, "But not before she's fully healed. Are you?"

Jana sighed, "Dr Whitewood said I'll be fine in a couple of days. I'm more embarrassed than anything. The cubs were pretty much running around afterwards and there was me- the great alpha spokesperson for our race, hobbling."

Matei smiled, "It's ok."

Jana sighed, "Well, yeah. Dr Whitewood said that my DNA is odd, even by wildblood standards."

"What does that mean?" Matei asked.

Jana shrugged, "I told my father about everything that happened here. He said that the legends state clearly that a fire-walker can't be the Dawnus. It's apparently too much power to handle. He said my mother, well she's like Ceri, she just sometimes knows things, about the future. My mother said that I was the Dawnus, but my father never told me because he wanted me to not feel burdened by anything like that."

"Well," Matei said, "You are the Dawnus. You were the one who led us to Blyddisiad. You were the leader of the pack who got there first."

Jana shrugged, "I don't know. I don't really care either. All I care about is that we're safe now. All of us."

Matei nodded, just as Emilia began to wake up. She was still groggy, the nightshade would take a few days more to leave her system.

She smiled as she saw her brother and her alpha, but the looked away with a pained expression on her face.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Jana said, before kissing Matei's cheek, "Tonight, yeah?"

Matei smiled, "Yeah."

Emilia frowned, "Are you and Jana, dating?"

Matei nodded.

"Finally," Emilia said.

Matei laughed, "That's what everyone's been saying. Anyway, I hope you're feeling better."

Emilia nodded, "Physically, yes. Mentally, I just can't do it anymore. I thought I was respected there, loved even. But, it was all just a lie. I don't know where I belong now, if I stay in the human world I'll be bullied, if I stay in the wild I'll just be running away from that, or I'll get used by another wildblood. There's nowhere for me now."

"Yes, there is," Matei said, "Stay with me. Please, Emilia. We'll make everything right."

The doors of the room burst open to reveal a familiar face that made Emilia jump in fear.

Hannah walked towards her, passing her a plastic bag. Emilia just regarded her with suspicion.

"Go on," Hannah said to her, as Emilia pulled out the taekwando gear that was inside.

"Selina told me she was training you," Hannah said, "But given Selina and I are training together now, you should be trained by both of us. And anyway, I was being silly before, bullying you."

Emilia nodded, "Thank you."

"You know I did it because I was jealous," Hannah said.

"Jealous?" Emilia asked disbelievingly, "Of me?"

Hannah nodded, "Yeah, not many people can survive a fire like that and be back at school only a few weeks later."

Emilia sighed, "It's a fire-walker thing."

Hannah shrugged, "Yeah, well I'm still impressed. Anyway, we need you on our team, we've got matches coming up against one of the best trained teams in the country and we need you. The idea of fighting a fire-walker is enough to scare most people away."

Emilia smiled, "Thank you. And yes, I'll train with you and Selina."

"Oh and Meinir too of course," Matei added, before turning to Hannah, "She insisted."

Hannah smiled, "Yeah, well, she's a good fighter. She'll be even better once you help her get her wolf back."

Emilia frowned.

"She doesn't know?" Hannah asked, "They carried out the tests, your DNA matches Meinir's."

"I didn't want to pressure you into making a choice," Matei told his sister.

"I'll do it," Emilia said, "Meinir's like a sister to me."

Hannah smiled, "Well, I'll tell when I get to the gym, I'll see you later."

Emilia smiled.

"See, it's not all bad," Matei said.

"Is it true, people are frightened of me?" Emilia asked.

Matei shook his head, "Not really. Well, not any more than they're frightened of Robyn. You're more of a celebrity. But don't worry Jana and I… we've been distracting them."

Emilia grinned, "Tell Jana thanks."

Matei smiled, "I will."

"And I'm going to stay," Emilia said, "Here, in the human world. I have no idea where, it'll be too crowded at the Kafe or Imara's."

Matei grinned, "Segolia's back. We can go back to our foster parents."

Emilia smiled, "So are Imara, Jana and Robyn working for Segolia again?"

Matei nodded, "Sort of, Jana's doing her on and off thing again. She's just helping out. Robyn's working part-time Segolia, part-time Kafe. And Imara's head of security again. She's going house hunting today. Things have really turned around."

Emilia smiled, "I know. I think we'll be ok now."

"We will," Matei promised, "We really will."

THE END


End file.
